Congress, Public Workers | featured news

President Obama told congressional leaders Tuesday that he is extending a two-year pay freeze for federal employees until at least next spring because Congress has not agreed on a budget for the next fiscal year.

Federal employees who were fired because they did not sign up for the U.S. draft may not challenge the constitutionality of their dismissals in federal district courts, the Supreme Court ruled Monday. The justices ruled 6 to 3 that Congress has set up a strict method for government employees to appeal their dismissals — first before the Merit Systems Protection Board and then the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal District — even if the claim is that the firing was unconstitutional.

The House is scheduled to vote Wednesday on a new bill that would freeze the salaries of federal employees, lawmakers and congressional staffers for another year.